So you’ve been thoroughly enjoying this weather, but maybe a tad too much. Get any sunburns yet? Don’t worry me too, but it is what it is!
Once slathering yourself with aloe relieves the pain after a couple of days, you may or may not just allow the skin to eventually peel off on its own during its healing process (unless you have great satisfaction slowly peeling to hear that auditory tear – it’s always a game to peel a bigger piece than the last).
But to be honest, you shouldn’t peel off that skin anyways because the deeper layers of skin that was not damaged by the suns UV rays, will become exposed thus risking the danger of a deeper burn.
The process of peeling depending on the severity of the burn, can average out to 2 weeks but can even go up to a couple of months. I personally usually start peeling once it’s been at least 3 weeks, and can last another 3 – quite annoying really, but I’ve also burned my back so badly (pulling weeds in a 2700 sq/f backyard for 3 hours with no sunscreen – had to sleep on my stomach for a week because I was a smartass 15 year old) and those tan lines literally took 3 years to fade completely (I’ll be on the hunt of a picture of it – it was awful).
The itch can also be unreal. You can be by yourself, can’t reach your mid-back, you don’t have a back scratcher so you resort to rubbing against the corner of a wall like a bear against a tree (but it truly never satisfies the itch!).
So although I don’t condone peeling off the dead skin, I do understand wanting to relieve the itch and speed up the process. I’m sure once you’re a walking snowstorm, you’d want to exfoliate!
So now to exfoliation, there are two types; chemical and mechanical, but for something like a general body exfoliator, you would go with mechanical as chemical exfoliants are geared towards your face and specific dermal complaints.
Mechanical exfoliators can vary with tools such as a rough washcloth, muslin cloth or cleansing brushes, but you can use ingredients you have in your kitchen or you can order online.
I would avoid using sugar as the particles can be quite sharp and cause micro-tearing on your beautiful skin, so the finer the particle, the better. You can use the finest ground of coffee like for an espresso or Aeropress (go extra fine like for a Turkish coffee because you’re so extra), or even opt for ground pumice or apricot seed (for a price).
Just so you don’t lose your exfoliating particles down the drain in one fell swoop, it’s best to mix them with a binder (honestly just use coconut oil) but only make an amount you’d use in one go. Don’t make it in bulk in a jar to sit in your bathroom because it can get moldy due to no preservatives added and the risk of contamination (you only deserve the freshest).
This weekend I’ll have a tutorial up so keep an eye out, and lather an extra layer of sunscreen (you’ll get your tan gradually – don’t rush it!).
Give The Honesty Policy a follow on Facebook at @thehonestypolicyca and on Instagram at @thehonestypolicyca . Here you can watch my tutorials and read condensed versions of my blog posts!
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